DME (Distance Measuring Equipment)

These DME systems tell you your distance, ground speed, and time to station.

There is nothing a DME can do that a GPS cannot do better. However, that does not mean the distances calculated by a DME and GPS are the same. There are some key differences you should know.

A DME measures your line-of-sight / slant range distance to the VOR station, a figure that is influenced by your altitude. A GPS measures the distance between your current latitude / longitude coordinates and those of your waypoint. Your altitude is not a factor for the GPS.

Also, a DME can only measure the distance to the VOR station, while a GPS can measure to any waypoint. If determining the distance to an airport, the GPS could easily measure to a point a mile or more from a co-located VOR station.

Unless an approach has a GPS overlay, with the same weather and altitude requirements, a DME may offer you more options than GPS alone.

If you are looking for a DME that is not listed here, please click to send us an email. If we don't have it in stock, we can find it for you!